More COVID Safety Officers are out and about in busy locations in Bath and North East Somerset, including Keynsham Memorial Park, over the school holiday week to reinforce lockdown guidance and encourage social distancing.
The officers work in teams of two and help ensure people understand lockdown guidance around when it’s OK to leave home, keeping in family bubbles and that being outdoors is for exercise, not socialising.
They are also patrolling in parks in Bath, Midsomer Norton and Radstock, and for the first time uniformed officers will also be at Chew Magna where concerns have been raised over correct social distancing.
Leader of the council Dine Romero said: “It’s a concern that certain locations have become busier in recent days. To make sure we keep people as safe as possible and help them to ensure they’re doing the right thing, we have increased the number of our COVID Safety Officers in these key areas. It’s especially important that families using our parks understand that this should be for exercise only and adhere to hands, face, space.
“The coronavirus guidance stipulates that we should all stay local, which means the village, town or part of the city we live in. We should not be travelling to visit other areas for exercise.
“The number of COVID cases is continuing to fall in Bath and North East Somerset which is reassuring, however we cannot afford to be complacent.
“The guidance from Public Health England is still to stay at home and to ‘act as if you have it’. We all need to continue to play our part in following this guidance to keep ourselves and others safe.”
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